davis



(No Model.)

Y v1).-M0GARTHY & G. R. DAVIS.

PIANO.

No. 276,258. Patented Apr. 24, 1883.

Pijl.

UNITED STATESA PATENT OFFICE.

DENNIS MCOARTHY AND GEORGE R. DAVIS, OF ST. JOHN, VNEV BRUNSYVIOK,CANADA.

PIANO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of 'Letters Patent No. 276,258, datedAp1-n24, 188e.

Application tiled December 1l, 1882. (No niodclJ To all whom tt mayconcern:

Beit known that we, DENNIS MCOAETHY and GEORGE R. DAVIS, subjects oftheQueen of Great Britain, residing in St. John, in the county of St. John,Province of New Brunswick,.Domini0n `of Canada, have invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Pianos, of which the following is adescription sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any personskilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is' anisomctrical perspective view,

. showinga piano provided with our'improvement, Fig. 2, a sectionalfront elevation of the finger-board, Fig. 3, a top plan viewot'the same;Fig. 4, a vertical transverse section taken on line z, Fig. 2, and Fig.5, a view showing a modification ot' our improvement.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the differentfigures ot' the drawings.

The invention relates to finger-boards for pianos and other musicalinstruments provided with glass plates or mirrors.

The invent-ion consists in the peculiar con struction of the board,whereby it is adapted to readily receive and retain the glass plate ormirror, said board being` provided with a backing interposed between theboard andthe glass plate, all as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, A represents the case of the piano, B, the key-board orkeys; O, the name-board, and D the hoger-board.

The name-board is made of wood,in the usual manner, and is slightlythicker than the lingerboard, being so constructed and arranged thatwhen both are in position, as shown in Fig. 1, the naine-board willproject beyond the lingerboard, thereby covering or concealing its upperedge.

The body of the nager-board is composed of wood and faced with glass orwith the mirror K, the glass being held in position on the body by meansof the rabbeted or grooved end pieces, m m, and bottom piece, j", whichmay be attached thereto by the screws g g, or in any other convenientand proper manner.

A backing, G, consisting of cloth, velvet,

rubber, plush, or some analogous substance, is placed between the glassK and body D to prevent breakage. This backing is preferably glued orpermanently attached to the wood-work of the finger-board, and extendsfrom the top of the same down into the groove or rabbet in the piece f,forming a lining' for said groove, and thence outwardly over the frontedge ot' said piece, and back under the same to the rear of thefinger-board, as seen at x in Fig. 4, thereby covering the bottom of thenger-board,and preventingthekeys from making a noise as they rebound, orwhen accidentally brought into contact therewith. The backing is cutslightly longer than the glass, or soas to pass across the ends of thesame in the grooves of the end pieces, m m, thus furnishing an elasticpackingfor the same in said grooves, as shown at d d.

In constructing the tin ger-board the grooved or rabbeted ends m m andbottom fare tirst attached to the body D, and the backing G secured tothe wood-work, as best seen in Fig. 4, alter which the glass is insertedfrom the top of the board, being readily slipped into the -grooves infront of the body and backing, as shown in Fig. 2, and easily replacedwhen broken.

It will be obvious that the ends in m and bottom fmay be formed integralwith the body D, it' preferred, also, that the backing and that part ot'the same extending under the bottom fmay be made in two or more pieces,it' desired.

What we claim as our invention is- A front or finger board for pianos orother musical instruments, consisting of a body, D, grooved bottom andend stripsfand m nl, attached to said body and projecting in frontthereof, a cloth backing, G, covering the front face of said body, whichalso serves as a lining for the grooves of said strips and is extendedto cover the outer surface of said bottom strip, and a glass plateresting in the l

